‘Something really special’: Aussie rock legends Cold Chisel announce massive Blood Moon tour
After months of speculation, Cold Chisel has announced a new tour and record. But reading between the lines, these could be their last big live dates. SEE THE FULL LIST OF DATES.
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They are not calling it their Last Last Stand but Cold Chisel’s summer tour is likely to be their final big gig run around Australia.
Jimmy Barnes, Don Walker, Ian Moss and Phil Small unveiled their Blood Moon tour, which will feature huge outdoor shows from the beach to the bush from New Year’s Eve until February.
The band have only performed four national tours over the past 36 years since their break-up with the Last Stand in 1983.
Australian artists are hesitant to attach “last” or “farewell” to their concert runs because it attracts comparisons to John Farnham’s misunderstood decision to step back from full-scale arena tours with The Last Time tour in 2002.
But at a press conference overlooking Bondi Beach on Wednesday, Barnes admitted this massive outdoor tour was unlikely to be repeated.
“You gotta think about it. We’ve toured four times together since 1983; I couldn’t see us getting around to doing this again
“It’s always an event to (tour) with this band and it’s a big beast to get going. It takes a lot of preparation and … we are going to treat this like it’s the biggest thing we’ve ever done.”
When Barnes was asked how the news the Blood Moon tour could be their farewell jaunt around the country, he suggested they not miss out on the shows.
“Come along and find out. We’ll treat this like any other shows and give it everything we’ve got and more and I think the fans will be pleased. And I think if they miss it, they’ll be really f … ing sorry,” he said.
It appears Chisel aren’t so much breaking up, with the expectation they would only regroup in the future for special event performances rather than an extensive itinerary of concerts around the country.
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The band’s chief songwriter and most cryptic member Don Walker said they chose to name the tour after the rare lunar eclipse where the sun, earth and moon momentarily align before returning to their own orbits.
“You might get to see a blood moon once in your life,” Walker said.
“Apparently there’s going to be one just before dawn when we’re in Melbourne on this tour but we didn’t actually know that when we chose the name. Maybe it’s a sign.”
Original members Barnes, Walker, Ian Moss, Phil Small, and drummer Charley Drayton who has been with Chisel since Steve Prestwich’s death in 2011, all have individual music and artistic careers away from the band.
Mossy almost missed the tour launch having lost his passport in America this week but somehow managed to still make his Qantas flight home.
“I thought I’d completely blown this … I don’t know what happened there. (It seems) a driver’s licence is all you need these days,” the sheepish guitarist said.
Chisel have been recording in Sydney over recent months and a new record, their first since The Perfect Crime 2015 is expected to be released next year, preceded by a single or two before the tour kicks off.
Chisel have booked an impressive summer run of 14 big gigs in Australia and New Zealand which kick off on New Year’s Eve at Fremantle Park and winding up at the Sirromet Winery in Queensland for A Day On The Green.
The tour will include the first major concert event at the Bankwest Stadium in Sydney on January 24 and the biggest gig in Tamworth in the middle of the annual country music festival.
These huge outdoor events are mini-festivals with Chisel bringing their mates with them.
Paul Kelly, Hoodoo Gurus, Birds Of Tokyo, Kasey Chambers, Troy Cassar-Daley, Magic Dirt, Jebediah, the Teskey Brothers and Busby Marou among the support acts playing on the Blood Moon run.
Tickets for the Blood Moon tour go on sale from October 21, with a fan pre-sale opening on October 16.
FULL TOUR DATES
Fremantle Park, December 31, with Birds of Tokyo, Jebediah, Gyroscope, Carla Geneve and the Southern River Band.
Barnard Park, Busselton, January 1, with Birds of Tokyo, Jebediah, Gyroscope, Carla Geneve and the Southern River Band.
Glenelg Beach, Adelaide, January 4, with Paul Kelly, the Teskey Brothers, the Detonators and Tim Prestwich Band.
All Saints Estate, Rutherglen, January 7 with Birds of Tokyo and Magic Dirt (A Day On The Green).
Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley, January 10, Birds of Tokyo, Magic Dirt and The Detonators (A Day On The Green).
Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong, January 11 with Paul Kelly, Birds of Tokyo and Magic Dirt (A Day On The Green).
Hope Estate, Hunter Valley, January 18 with Birds of Tokyo and Busby Marou
Scully Park, Tamworth, January 19 with Paul Kelly, Kasey Chambers, Troy Cassar-Daley and Charlie Collins
Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta, January 24 with Hoodoo Gurus, Birds of Tokyo and Busby Marou
Stuart Park, Wollongong, January 25, with Birds of Tokyo, Magic dirt, Busby Marou and 19Twenty
Stage 88, Canberra, January 30, with Paul Kelly and Magic Dirt
Heifer Station Wines, Orange, February 1, with Birds of Tokyo and Magic Dirt (A Day On The Green)
Sirromet Wines, Mount Cotton, February 8 with Birds of Tokyo and Magic Dirt (A Day On The Green).